Ethereum has come under renewed pressure after falling sharply over the past week, with technical indicators pointing to further downside even as the amount of ETH held on exchanges drops to its lowest level in nearly a decade.
The price of Ethereum has declined by about 13% over the past seven days and is down nearly 46% from its high earlier this year. On 6 February, it fell to around $1,800 before recovering modestly and trading in a narrow range between $2,000 and $2,100 in recent sessions.
The broader cryptocurrency market has also weakened, shedding more than $1tn in value amid ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty. Analysts say this has reduced investors’ appetite for risk assets, including major digital tokens.
From a technical perspective, Ethereum remains in a downtrend after breaking below several key support levels. This move triggered forced liquidations of leveraged positions and reinforced bearish sentiment. Chart patterns, including a descending channel on the daily chart and a multi-year head and shoulders formation on the weekly chart, continue to cap any upside.
Short-term indicators have also turned negative. The 20-day simple moving average has crossed below the 50-day average, a signal commonly viewed as bearish. Analysts warn that if Ethereum fails to hold the $2,000 level, prices could fall back towards $1,800.
Institutional demand has shown little sign of recovery. Inflows into spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds have remained weak in recent months, removing a key source of support that previously helped push prices higher.
At the same time, on-chain data presents a mixed picture. According to CryptoQuant, the amount of ETH held on exchanges has fallen to around 16 million tokens, levels last seen in 2016. While declining exchange balances can limit selling pressure, analysts caution that reduced liquidity may also increase price volatility if large holders move funds.
Recent activity by large investors has drawn attention to this risk. Bitmine, backed by investor Tom Lee, added around 40,000 ETH in a single day as part of a longer-term accumulation strategy.
For now, market watchers say Ethereum’s near-term direction will depend on whether it can stabilise above key support levels and whether broader market conditions improve.
